Estimated annual losses range from 445 Billion to 1 Trillion dollars a year from to cyber crime and cyber criminals, more than 1% of the GDP. In 2014, 17.6 million Americans reported being victims of Identity Theft and on average there are 160 successful cyber-attacks against businesses every week. Why can't Police seem to get ahead of the criminals? Or at least catch some of the bad guys? This talk addresses the current state of computer crime investigations in The United States, problems with overlapping jurisdictions, the volatility of evidence, and other challenges facing a law enforcement in a cyber crime investigation. The talk outlines some of the most common forms of cyber crime investigated by law enforcement and highlights some specific case investigations. The talk explains the investigation process and offers guidance for business owners and network support personnel when attempting to report criminal activity found within their network or when interacting with law enforcement. Lastly, the talk outlines some of the Federal, State and Local resources available to law enforcement and business owners and proposes some recommendations for future efforts to combat cyber crime and cyber criminals.

Chip Thornsburg is a Police Officer and Electronic Crimes Investigator for the City of Helotes. He oversees compliance with the FBI and DPS computer network security standards at the local level. He has conducted numerous investigations ranging from Murder and Terroristic Threats to Online Harassment using technology. He began a research and consulting business in 1996 for network communications and security before transitioning into law enforcement. Former Adjunct instructor Technology and Criminal Justice at River City College and Southern Careers. He is a member of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association and the US Secret Service: Southwest Electronic Crime Task Force.

Recorded at NolaCon 2016